FIFA World Cup 2018: Peru Defeats Australia In A One Sided Affair

By Kartikey Sharma

Photo Courtesy: Zee News

Australia clashed with Peru in the third game of both the teams at the FIFA World Cup 2018 in Russia. The final scoreline on Tuesday was Peru 2 – 0 Australia.

If the Socceroos had any chances of getting past the group stage, they would only surface if the team won this game. Their opponents Peru who are quite adept at attacking had an off tournament themselves, and were looking to redeem themselves with at least one good performance.

The game started, and predictably it was Peru who controlled most of the possession. This wasn’t a worry for Australia as they are a team who like to break with pace and cause trouble. They were constantly troubling the South American nation whenever an attack was launched from the right wing. It appeared that it was the Oceania side that settled in better than Peru.

However, the breakthrough came at the hands of Andre Carrillo who scored in the 18th minute for Peru. It was absolutely against the run of play, but a ball played over the Aussie defence was met by his volley.

This only tipped Australia over the edge who threw in the kitchen sink to go all out. They were going out of the tournament with this result, and it became a matter of pride for them to fight as long as they can.

Through long balls, incisive through balls or crosses, Australia prodded along but couldn’t find space to convert their chances. The first-half ended with a 1-0 scoreline, but the story spoke of something else entirely.

Score – Australia 0 – 1 Peru at half time.

The second half began and with Peru on the driving seat as they brought in Pedro Aquino Sanchez in the place of Yoshimar Yotun. The change was in favour of Peru who were appearing in the world cup after 36 years and they needed something to take back home with them. In the 50th minute, Paolo Guerrero, the captain put in a volley from Flores assist to score the second goal of the game ending all hopes for Australia in this World Cup.

There was still time for the Australians as they shifted their tactics by bringing in two quick substitutions. That didn’t help the Socceroos either as they lost their cool on the ground and racking up cards. Australia took 14 shots at goal against Peru but all of them were in vain.